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COLUMBUS,
Ohio and PITTSBURGH, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Two emerging
nanotechnology companies announced a broad cross-licensing
agreement that will extend the market reach and technical
utility of their fluorescent biomolecular assaying
platforms.
BioCrystal Ltd., based in Columbus, Ohio, and Crystalplex
Corp., based in Pittsburgh, Pa., also said they agreed
to collaborate on the development of novel products
using the proprietary technologies of each company.
The agreement also provides for possible joint product
distribution.
The agreement combines highly complementary technologies
for producing fluorescent semiconducting nanocrystals
and nanobeads, which are gaining increasing use in
the detection of low-abundance molecules in biological
research and clinical diagnosis.
In particular, BioCrystal provided Crystalplex with
a non-exclusive worldwide license to its intellectual
property related to nanocrystal-encoded beads and
a nanocrystal-enhanced filter set for microscopy applications.
BioCrystal will also allow Crystalplex to use non-water-soluble
nanocrystals for encoding into Crystalplex's PlxBead
products and its water-soluble nanocrystals products
for sale with Crystalplex PlxBeads.
Crystalplex provided BioCrystal with a nonexclusive
worldwide sublicense to its alloyed nanocrystal technology
licensed from Indiana University.
"Crystalplex is delighted to forge a working
relationship with such a strong technology leader,"
said Alan R. Seadler, Ph.D., president and CEO of
Crystalplex. "This collaboration will have a
major impact on the future of fluorescent nanocrystals
as platforms for highly multiplexed and ultra- sensitive
molecular detection."
"Crystalplex has a clear vision of what it expects
to accomplish with its bead-based technology,"
said Jeffrey R. Bergen, president and CEO of BioCrystal.
"We are pleased to have this opportunity to broaden
biological and clinical applications for fluorescent
nanocrystal products."
About Crystalplex Corp. ( http://crystalplex.com/
)
Crystalplex is an early stage company providing cutting-edge,
bead-based nanotechnology "PlxBeads" to
the biomedical research and medical diagnostic markets.
Plxbeads can be used as "molecular barcodes"
to monitor complex biological processes in pharmaceutical
research or as nanosensors reporting diagnostic results
for complex diseases. Crystalplex products will provide
test results from smaller samples and with reduced
time, lower labor costs, and less expensive instrumentation
than currently possible while also providing better
results for drug discovery or diagnostic decision
making. Crystalplex was founded by LaunchCyte LLC
and has been funded by private investors as well as
Innovation Works, the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse,
and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
About BioCrystal, Ltd. (( http://www.biocrystal.com/
)
Formed in 1996, BioCrystal, Ltd., brought together
an interdisciplinary science group into a business
structure committed to the development of novel products
and procedures for applications in the life sciences
and clinical medicine. Funded by private investment
sources in Columbus, Ohio, BioCrystal has created
a vital, high technology business environment in which
products are being developed for commercialization
in three areas: semiconductor-based, nanocrystalline
fluorescent markers (BioPixels(TM)) for cell and intracellular
detection and analysis; therapeutic compounds and
procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer;
and OptiCell (R), a versatile, disposable tool for
broad use in cell and tissue culture. BioCrystal has
36 patents and allowed patent applications in the
three technology areas.
Source: Crystalplex Corp.
CONTACT:
Jeffrey R. Bergen, President and CEO of BioCrystal
Ltd.,
+1-614-818-1170 x 208, or jbergen@biocrystal.com ;
or Alan R. Seadler, Ph.D.,
President and CEO of Crystalplex Corp., +1-412-826-3082,
or
alan@crystalplex.com
Web site: http://www.launchcyte.com/
http://crystalplex.com/
http://www.biocrystal.com/
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